BW Doubles Team WhiteWater (Smogon Doubles: Peaked #1)

Doubles Co-Leader

It's Pwnemon; you probably recognize me if you do CAP or ASB, or if you remember a moderate-to-poor poster in OU from about a year ago before I grew disenchanted with the meta. Well, about a week ago, bmelts mentioned that Pocket was trying to get a doubles metagame going on Smogon. Intrigued, I threw together a team, which eventually grew into what it is today. Without further ado, I present to you the best rain team on the Smogdubs ladder: Team Whitewater!

EDIT: After the time of writing, Arcticblast and I both used this team in the BW2 Smogon Doubles tournament, and both reached semis.
​

I recently completely rewrote this team as I was getting linked on the Doubles hub and needed it to look good. Simply put, this is an HO team. Though it's not a pathetic team defensively, it really eschews defensive synergy in exchange for hard-hitting Pokemon that quickly break down the opponent's team. As I lack such crucial resists as Fighting and have only one for Dragon, Ground, Electric, Rock, etc., you'd expect that i simply cannot play the defensive, but that's untrue. Most of the pokemon on this team have solid raw bulk, aided by the presence of three protect users and a Wide Guarder; however, I do want to be the one attacking while my opponent protects as opposed to vice-versa. This team is made to function entirely safely if Politoed falls early-game, as only Kingdra really 'relies' on the boost he gets from Toed. Toed is a solid pokemon though, and i play with him as such, not a little trinket that can set weather.

When I said "rain team" it probably wasn't hard to guess that this guy got a team slot, but honestly, even if he wasn't the only Pokemon that got Drizzle, I'd probably be using Politoed still. He serves more than his purpose as a supporter on the team, using Helping Hand for any of my five other pokemon to turn 2hkoes into OHKOes; using Icy wind to slow down Pokemon that I need Kingdra/Rotom/whoever to outspeed; smacking and hopefully burning things and generally being a prick who lives forever. It's magical how a Pokemon with stats like his can survive all the things it can, but it does, and it provides the only defensive utility on my team. Useful Poke.

Kingdra is the star of the show on this team. Those STAB resisted only by Ferrothorn! Not even scarfers outspeed this guy, and if i can get to an endgame with Politoed and Kingdra out and the weather war won, it's GG. After a Helping Hand boost, nothing except Ferrothorn can take what this guy has to offer. He has surprisingly decent bulk and his longevity with Protect is nothing to scoff at. Muddy Water is what I'll be using 90% of the time to punch holes in the opposition; Draco Meteor is what i use when something really needs to die and Muddy Water can't make it happen. Using this, I can absolutely sympathize with people who wanted Drizzle+SwSw banned in OU.

Rotom is Kingdra without the setup. Since none of my team is naturally fast, I needed a scarfer, and Rotom fit the bill perfectly. Hidden Power Ice is for Skymin, a massive bitch to any team but especially rain. Other than that, I prefer to use rain-boosted Hydro Pumps, in case of Yache. Thunder is my #1 option for taking out bulky waters not named gastro. Volt Switch because it beats dry switching, really, and Trick is tempting but rarely useful. Rotom is the immediate, reliable special attacking power of the team.

I originally put Hitmontop on my team solely because I hated Ferrothorn but he really does so much more. Basically, disruption, actually letting my team live any physical attack, and OHKOing all other weather setters than Hippowdon with his close combat is why i run Hitmontop here. He does... Hitmontoppy things? Not much to say, honestly. This set is so ubiquitous you should probably know what I mean.

If Kingdra is a F-22 then Kyurem is more like goddamn Little Boy. He really just tears shit up every time he steps on the field, and has more than enough bulk to take your horseshit. The diminished role of Steel-type Pokemon in Doubles makes Dragon Spam a semi-reliable strategy, and the special bent of the meta means a physical tankbuster more than serves his purpose. If I'm having a problem with a Pokemon that just won't die, Kyurem is always there to fix that.

Scizor is just such a /unique/ Pokemon that I couldn't help but use him. With Technician Bullet Punch and Bug Bite, he's already looking pretty good. Then throw in Feint and holy shit, why does nobody use him in Doubles. The EV's are simply max the attack, put the rest in bulk. Unlike in Singles, Scizor doesn't serve as any sort of "glue" for this team, he acts as another powerful attacker to dispatch Pokemon at low HP, the guy who i use when I really need something gone (thanks Feint, you fuck over all my opponents), and as a Psychic destroyer.

Forgive me, because this is my first team rate. That's a pretty solid team you have there Pwnemon, but Archenops seems kind of out of place as he magnifies your Kingdra weakness while also not doing terribly much for you in return. Might I suggest a Defensive Gastrodon? You lose out on stealth rock, but it counters Kingdra, is buffed by your surf spam, and can fuck up most physical attackers, provides icy wind support, and helps activate your own kingdra's absorb bulb. You'll suffer a tad more in the weather war, but given how frail and vulnerable Archenops is, it seems like a better bet to give him up for something that can help you beat out the number 1 threat to your team.

VGC Leader

So I'm going to be rating this team from the perspective of someone familiar with VGC team building synergy experience but next to no experience with smogon doubles. Take my advice with a grain of salt.

Archeops looks extremely out of place on this team as you've mentioned. The offensive prowess from Acrobatics doesn't really help rain break through much sans Amoonguss, its frail, and it doesn't partner well with really any of your team mates. You mentioned you're having problems with Ferrothorn and ultra fast Pokemon like Kingdra and Shaymin. To remedy the first problem and help the second, consider using a Toxicroak

If you set up a substitute with Toxicroak, Ferrothorn is helpless against you thanks to black sludge, drain punch, and Dry Skin. Fake Out allows you to grab momentum early game and / or allow your partner to target an important Pokemon in relative safety. Not to mention, Toxicroak really appreciates Surfs from Politoed and has solid offensive synergy with the rest of the team.

If you find Toxicroak's offensive prowess lacking, you could also consider a Hitmontop who runs a very similar set, but can't do a lot of the cool things Toxicroak can in rain with partner surfs and Dry Skin.